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Staten Island Bowling Hall of Fame inductee Naz Labetti poses with her induction trophy and HOF Director Ed Ellardi on Nov. 23, 2025.Michael O’Brien<\/p>\nSTATEN ISLAND, N.Y.\u2014 The Staten Island Bowling Hall of Fame rolled out an evening worthy of a perfect 300 on Sunday at LiGreci\u2019s Staaten, enshrining nine new members into its Class of 2025 and celebrating the 26th anniversary of its induction ceremony.<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s class included Superior Performance Award recipients Naz Labetti, Michelle Dash, Rob Butler Jr., Lonnie Levy, Tommy DiNardo, Tim McAuliffe Jr. and Phil DeCessario, as well as Meritorious Service Award honorees Liz Philpott and Don Schewd.<\/p>\n
Also receiving recognition were Joanne Soto, who earned the Gloria Simonson\/Donna Zajac Memorial Award, and Bob Johnson, honored with the Ben McNevich Memorial Award. Lifetime Achievement honors went to Richie Hornreich, while Frank Siller was named the Rab Wilkinson \u201cToast of the Town\u201d Award winner.<\/p>\n
Additionally, 13 local prep bowlers were named Ray Laursen High School All Stars: Krista Tedone, Andrei Kovmir, Nicholas Nunez, Peter Flynn and Justin Arenas of St. Joseph by-the-Sea; Moore Catholic\u2019s Robert Werling and Zachary McGinley; Tottenville\u2019s Anthony Laverdi and Meagan Brady; Daniel Anello of Curtis; New Dorp\u2019s Tyler Boyle; Port Richmond\u2019s Jacob Peterson; Petrides\u2019 Kiara Lombardi; and Lindsey Souffrin of Notre Dame Academy.<\/p>\n
Hall of Fame Director Ed Ellardi, who\u2019s in his first year in the role, said this year\u2019s class \u201cbrings a little bit of everything\u201d to the organization\u2019s collective r\u00e9sum\u00e9 and that each inductee is highly deserving of the honor.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody bowled for a very, very long time, and even those who weren\u2019t able to put up a superior performance contributed so much to the game. It\u2019s really about what they\u2019ve done for others \u2014 helping, teaching, running leagues, and so on. They did an excellent job,” he shared.<\/p>\n
He also noted that coming together to honor some of the borough\u2019s best keglers \u2014 and to remind the community of its closeness \u2014 reflects just how tight-knit Staten Island truly is.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were all friends on and off the lanes and many of them grew up together. I\u2019ve watched so many juniors here develop into the bowlers they are today, and I\u2019m very proud of each one of them and all they\u2019ve accomplished,\u201d Ellardi said.<\/p>\n
Staten Island Bowling Hall of Fame inductee Naz Labetti poses with her induction trophy and HOF Director Ed Ellardi on Nov. 23, 2025.Michael O’Brien<\/p>\n
Among the Superior Performance Award winners was Labetti, whose roots in Staten Island\u2019s bowling community run deep. She stressed how pivotal her father, the iconic borough coach Ray Laursen \u2014 who passed away in 2024 \u2014 was in shaping her career.<\/p>\n
\u201cTonight helps to remember the impact my dad had\u2026not just on me, but on the bowling community overall, reminds me how much of who I am in this sport comes from him,” said Labetti, whose sister, Philpott, also went into the Hall on the same night.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven to this day, when I watch my husband (Jim) in the pro shop, I see things he does that remind me of my dad. He is carrying on a legacy, and it\u2019s really important to me \u2014 it means a lot to see that continue.”<\/p>\n
Ellardi also highlighted the profound impact the Laursen family has had on the bowling community and how meaningful it was to induct Labetti, saying, \u201cWe suffered a tremendous loss with Ray no longer being with us, but we know he\u2019s here in spirit. His family\u2019s dedication to bowling \u2014 through education and mentorship \u2014 has been incredible. They do so much for all bowlers, not just the juniors. They truly are a remarkable family.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fellow Superior Performance Award winner DiNardo also shared how much bowling has shaped his life, crediting the sport with even helping him choose his career path.<\/p>\n
\u201cBowling has sculpted my life. It\u2019s given me friends, it\u2019s taken me places I would have never thought I\u2019d be, and it even led me to become a chiropractor. I can\u2019t thank my family enough for introducing me to this sport.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also even expressed gratitude for the moments spent in the heat of competition with his fellow community members, saying, \u201cSometimes we\u2019d fight over silly things, and the next day we\u2019d be hugging. That\u2019s the bowling community. Bowling has given me so many lifelong friends, and I\u2019m thankful for every one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Also offering remarks was Superior Performance Award winner DeCessario, who reminded attendees that bowling is a special sport because of what happens off the scoresheets.<\/p>\n
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Staten Island Bowling Hall of Fame inductee Tommy Dinardo poses with his induction trophy and HOF Director Ed Ellardi on Nov. 23, 2025.Michael O’Brien<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat means the most are the friendships, rivalries, and bonds created along the way. Bowling isn\u2019t just about the scores \u2014 it\u2019s about perseverance, discipline, and community. Every night on the lane is a reminder of that greatness,” he concluded.<\/p>\n
To learn more about the Staten Island Bowling Hall of Fame and its history, visit statenislandbowlinghof.org.<\/a><\/p>\n If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement<\/a> and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and\/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.\u2014 The Staten Island Bowling Hall of Fame rolled out an evening worthy of a perfect…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50386,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[9,24,63,134,136,135],"class_list":["post-50385","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-staten-island","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-staten-island","tag-staten-island-headlines","tag-staten-island-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50385","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50385"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50385\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50386"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}